Automatic degreaser unit



March 29, 1966 s. c. HUFF AUTOMATIC DEGREASER UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21, 1963 IN VENTOR;

HTTORNEYS March 29, 1966 s. c. HUFF AUTOMATIC DEGREASER UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 21, 1963 HTTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed 061;. 21, 1963 INVENTOR.

HTTORNEVS' United States Patent 3,242,933. AUTOMATIC! DEGREASER Samuel C. Huff, Durand, Mich, assignor to Simplicity Engineering Company, Durand, Mich, acorporation of Michigan Filed Oct. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 317,512 6 Claims. (Cl. 13468) which. the work is discharged for complete exposure to' the solvent asthe parts are vibrated and moved from the intake to discharge conveyor for conveying the work" out of said tank. 7

Another object is to provide means for turning the work face for face as it travels in the basket.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a heat exchanger immersed in the solvent within the tank to produce a continuous vapor supply for the parts.

A further object still is to provide meansfor condensing the vapor created by the heat exchanger in the solvent, and provide means around the upper surface of the unit for condensing the vapor produced by the heating of the degreasing solution.

Still another object is to provide a machine for automated handling of screw machine.parts;.which is of compact construction for accommodation in a very small floor space; which requires a minimum amount of liquid solvent in operation, and which has high production and efficient removal of the soil and chips from the work.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims; it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a side elevational-view of my degreasing unit.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view. thereof;

FIG.'3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the parts basket.

FIG. 5 is aperspective viewof the spring cap bracket.

FIG. 6 shows themotor and pump arrangement for the spray nozzles.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary'plan of the parts conveyor.

FIG. 8 is afragmentary, side elevational view of the degreaser uni-t showing the condensing unit mounted. in the conveyor frame for condensing thesolvent vapor.

FIG. 9v is a rear elevational view of the condensing means.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention.

The invention in the present application will-be more readily understood from a consideration of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment selected for illustration of the several figures of the drawings which show a "ice continuous degreaser in accordance with the present invention.

The apparatus broadly comprises an elongated, leakproof tank 10, the inner surface of which is treated with a suitable compositiomthe floor of the feed section 11 on the intake end being angled as at 12, and the upper edges of the tank are turned horizontally as at 14, with stainless steel covers 15 having an angle 16 secured to the inner face thereof to fit and form a closure for the open top sections of the tank. A pair of longitudinally disposed angles 17 are secured to and form a support for the tank as shown, and the front wall at the discharge end of the tank is disposed at an angle as at 18, andfor an object to be herinafter described.

Opposed, inwardly projecting supporting brackets 19 are mounted on the sidewalls ofthe tank 10 at a point spaced from the upper end thereof, and a pitched parts basket B is mounted therein, the front andside walls 20 and 21 respectively being formed of perforated metal, the rear end 22 being open, and the bottom being formed of stainless steel rods 23'. Apair of longitudinally, spaced apart steps 24-24 are provided in the bottomwall of the basket B, and as the parts travel thereover, they are turned face for face so that the entire surface of each part is thoroughly cleaned.

The basket B includes a frame 25 to which brackets 26 are connected, each bracket being formed of sheet metal having a horizontally disposed section 27 provided with a spring cup 28 disposed over the spring E which is interposed between the bracket 19 and cup 2-8 as shown.

A vibrating assembly V is mounted onthe closed section 29 of the tank 10 and is supported on edge disposed plate members 30, the upper edges of'which are shaped as at 31 to accommodate the housing 32 of the vibrator.

Hanger bars 33 are welded to the outer Wall of each vibrator support plate 30, said bars depending downwardly for connection to the basket B in any desired manner, and plates 34 are welded to said hanger bars for connection to the upper edge of the basket, said basket being vibrated as the vibrator is driven.

A counter-balanced vibrating shaft 35 is journaled in the housing V, and a sheave 36 is mounted thereon, and I do not deem it necessary to show or describe this in detail as it is substantially the same as shown. in Patent No. 2,311,814, granted February 23, 19 43, to Messrs. Behnke, Westcott and Sand-ula.

A motor 37 is mounted on the tank 10 in position shown, and a sheave 38 is mounted on the shaft 39, a belt 40 'drivingly connecting the sheaves 356 and/38, said rnotor being connected to any convenient source of power for vibrating the work basket as the motor is driven. One end of a flight conveyor C is mounted int-he discharge end of the main. tank 10 and is disposed on the :bottom wall thereof, said conveyor including a frame 41 extending a predetermined distance toward the rear wall of the tank, and this frame can, be ofany'desired design. An and roller 42 is mountedon a shaft 43 as shown, and a slot- 44 is provided in the frame to permit adjustment of said shaft. This frame 411 lead-s upwardly a predetermined distance beyondthe topof the tank, thence extending horizontally, and being supported by an adjustable standard 45 which also supports a drive motor 46pmounted on a platform 47 disposed above the top of the-frame.

Bearings 48' are mounted on a base 49 provided on the outer end of the f-riame 41, and a shaft 50 is journaled in said bearings and' carries a roller 51 over which the conveyor belt 5-2 travels, and a drive belt 53 drivingly connects the motor 46 with a drive pulley 54 provided on the shaft 50.

Continuous belt guides 55 extend from end to end of the conveyor C, and the preferablycadmium plated,

perforated metal belt 52 travels on said guides.

The open end 22 of the work basket B extends over the intake end of the conveyor C so that work discharged from the open end, drops directly onto the belt 52 of the conveyor C which travels the work upwardly (-see arrows on FIG. 1 of the drawings) for discharge as usual.

A sheet metal hood 57 is mounted on the tank 10 at a point adjacent the discharge end thereof and extends over the exposed upwardly angled section of the conveyor, said hood being held in position by means of brackets 58 as usual.

A spray mechanism S is mounted on the main tank 10 adjacent the one end as shown and comprises a base plate 59 which spans said tank, and a pump P is mounted thereon, said pump being drivingly connected to a motor 60 also provided on said base plate. An intake feed pipe 61 is connected to the pump P and leads into a tank 62 provided on the side wall of the main tank 10 to provide a source of liquid supply, and a pipe 63 is provided in the tank62 and is also connected to any convenient source of liquid supply. A discharge pipe 64 connects to the pump P as shown and leads into the hood 57, and a twin.

spray nozzle N is mounted on the end of said pipe, said nozzle being adjustable. to spray the outgoing work carried by the conveyor when the device is in operation.

A conventional heat exchanger H is provided in the main tank 10 as shown and is immersed in the vapor degreasing solvent in the tank, sufficient solvent being placed in the tank to cover the parts as they are vibrated, turned, and traveled to the open discharge end of the basket, said parts discharging onto the conveyor belt -2 as previously described. Thin coils 66 are mounted on the side walls of the tank directly adjacent the upper end thereof and are provided with relatively thin metal discs 67, the temperature of which is influenced by the temperature of the water flowing through the coils 66 to condense the vapor produced by the heating of the degreasing solution.

A continuous trough 68 is provided around the inner wall of the tank and maintains an even level of the solvent in the tank at all times.

In practice, the tank is filled to desired depth with the necessary supply of degreasing solution, and heat is applied to the solution by means of the heat exchanger H, the screw machine parts or work to be degreased is discharged into the intake end of the vibrated perforated basket B and travels the parts towards the outlet end of the basket over the steps 24-24 which turns the parts face for face towards the open end 22 then discharging them directly onto the face of the conveyor belt 52. As the parts travel upward on the conveyor belt,- they are subjected to the spray from the nozzles N, thus removing all soil and metal chips, the parts continue their upwardly travel and are discharged into a bin or other conveyor (not shown) for storageor for conveying to any desired place.

The temperature of the thin coils 66 and discs 67 which surround the upper surface of the unit condenses the vapor produced by the heating of the degreasing solution and drain trough 69 rare provided in the main tank 10 directly belowv the vapor condensing means and lead to suitable outlets (not shown) for drainage as usualf FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings show a slight modification in which the hood 57'and spray mechanism S is eliminated and coils and discs 66 and 67, exactly the same as those previously described, are mounted on the conveyor frame 41 directly above the top of the tank, said coils being connected to the same. source of water supply as are the other coils and serves as a cold air condensing barrier for the vapor from the tank.

, spray mechanism and also coils and discs, it will be readily understood that both the spray and coil means can be used together if so desired.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that I have perfected a very simple, practical and economical degreasing apparatus which is continuous in operation, which vibrates and turns the parts as they are washed, sprays the parts to remove the solvent, rate, and discharges the said parts into a bin or other conveyor.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for degreasing parts comprising a closed top tank for containing a quantity of volatile degreasing solution at a predetermined level below the top of said tank; a vibratory unit mounted on said tank; a basket having a bottom for supporting said par-ts mounted in said tank at a level to immerse the parts carried thereby in said solution; means connecting said vibratory unit to said basket for vibrating the latter to advance the parts therein toward one end of said basket, said bottom having flat, stepped areas each of which is of such height relative to the next, lower stepped area as to cause the parts to turn face-for-face as they discharge from'one stepped area to the next lower stepped area; heating means in said solution for heating the latter and vaporizing .a portion of said solution; and cooling means mounted adjacent the top of said tank and above the level of said solution for condensing the vaporized solution.-

2. The apparatusset forth in claim 1, including trough means supported on said tank for determining the level of said solution.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said basket is open at said one end thereof to dis-charge parts therefrom; and including conveyor means supported in said tank for receiving parts discharged from said basket and conveying su-ch parts upwardly out of said tank.

4. The apparatus'set forth in claim 3 wherein said conveyor is enclosed within a hood; and including cooling means supported by said hood for additionally condensing the vaporized solution.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including a con; tinuous trough suppontedon said tank at substantially the level of said solution and through which cool-ant may be circulated.

6. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which a continuous trough extends around the inner wall of the tank at a predetermined distance from .the top thereof to limit the head of solvent in the tank.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,462 9/1908 Hanak 198-122 1,310,187 7/1919 Hodgson 198-122 1,456,456 5/1923' IMiller 134-68 2,045,680 6/1936 Wayland 134-25 X 2,153,577 4/1939 Levine 134-11 X 2,240,093 4/1941 Paul 134-68 2,240,443 4/1941 Paul 134-68 2,243,093 5/ 1941 Flahive 202- 2,273,939 2/1942 Dammers 134-74 2,366,949 1/ 1945 Woppman 202-170 2,468,872 5/1949 Goldsbarry 202- 2,586,223 2/ 1952 Harmon 209-151 X 2,696,465 12/ 1954 Kittredge 202-185 2,775,347 12/1956 Weston 209-314 2,802,476 8/ 1957 Kearney 134-1 X 2,918,926 12/1959 Behnke et a1. 134-131 X 2,930,349 3/1960 Jones *134-108 X 3,120,853 2/1964 Kearney 134-74 CHARLES A. WILLMUI'H, Primary Examiner.

While in the present instance I have shown a hood and G. 1. NORTH, Examiner.

ROBERT L. BLEUTGE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR DEGREASING PARTS COMPRISING A CLOSED TOP TANK FOR CONTAINING A QUANTITY OF VOLATILE DEGREASING SOLUTION AT A PREDETERMINED LEVEL BELOW THE TOP OF SAID TANK; A VIBRATORY UNIT MOUNTED ON SAID TANK; A BASKET HAVING A BOTTOM FOR SUPPORTING SAID PARTS MOUNTED IN SAID TANK AT A LEVEL TO IMMERSE THE PARTS CARRIED THEREBY IN SAID SOLUTION; MEANS CONNECTING SAID VIBRATORY UNIT TO SAID BASKET FOR VIBRATING THE LATTER TO ADVANCE THE PARTS THEREIN TOWARD ONE END OF SAID BASKET, SAID BOTTOM HAVING FLAT, STEPPED AREAS EACH OF WHICH IS OF SUCH HEIGHT RELATIVE TO THE NEXT, LOWER STEPPED AREA AS TO CAUSE THE PARTS TO TURN 